The U.S. will open qualifying for the 2027 Basketball World Cup in November against the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and a third nation that will be determined later this summer by the results of a pre-qualifier tournament.
The groups — and 68 of the 80 nations that are in the mix for the 31 open World Cup berths — were announced at Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday. Qatar is the only nation to have a World Cup spot assured; it has one because it will host the tournament in the summer of 2027.
The other 12 nations — eight from Europe, four from the Americas — that will play in qualifying will be determined this summer.
“The qualifiers are a special part of this journey," FIBA secretary general Andreas Zagklis said. "The World Cup is not a three-week event. The World Cup is in reality more than two years, as you can see. ... This is the key moment on the way to Doha.”
Germany is the defending champion, having topped Serbia for the gold medal at Manila in 2023. Canada beat the U.S. in that tournament for the bronze.
“When I started playing for the German national team in the late '90s, we would have never thought this was possible — that Germany will be World Cup champions," said German great Dirk Nowitzki, the longtime Dallas Mavericks star who brought the World Cup trophy onto the stage for the draw on Tuesday night. "I think that shows the growth of basketball in Germany and the rest of the world, in Europe, all over the place. It’s been fun watching basketball grow the last two decades and more. And really, anything is possible in the world now in basketball.”
The Americans have won the tournament five times, but not since 2014 — after finishing a record-worst seventh at China in 2019 and missing the medal stand again at Manila in 2023. It has been a challenge for the U.S. to field its best possible team for the World Cups, given that most stars tend to prefer playing in the Olympics and many can't commit to a plan where they would be playing in a World Cup one summer and the Olympics the following year.
“I’m excited," USA Basketball great and 2025 Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinee Carmelo Anthony said. “I think the world is excited. I think players are excited. I just think that intensity level, from what I’ve experienced in the previous World Cups, has shot up 10 times more than what it was before. I think the energy, I think that intentionality of the game, you see the passion of winning, not just from certain teams, you see it from all teams that are playing.”
A breakdown of the qualifying by region:
Americas
Teams: 16 for 7 World Cup spots.
First-round qualifying dates: November 2025, February 2026, July 2026.
Second-round qualifying dates: August 2026, November 2026, February 2027.
Format: Four groups of four teams in the first round (six games per team). The top three teams from each group will move on to the second round.
Group A: United States, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, TBD.
Group B: Canada, Puerto Rico, Bahamas, TBD.
Group C: Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, TBD.
Group D: Argentina, Uruguay, Panama, TBD.
(There are four teams still yet to qualify, and those teams will be determined at a pair of pre-qualifying tournaments in August.)
Europe
Teams: 32 for 12 World Cup spots.
First-round qualifying dates: November 2025, February 2026, July 2026.
Second-round qualifying dates: August 2026, November 2026, February 2027.
Format: Eight groups of four teams in the first round (six games per team). The top three teams from each group will move on to the second round.
Group A: Spain, Georgia, TBD, TBD.
Group B: Greece, Montenegro, Portugal, TBD.
Group C: Serbia, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, TBD.
Group D: Britain, Italy, Iceland, Lithuania.
Group E: Germany, Israel, Cyprus, TBD.
Group F: Latvia, Poland, TBD, TBD.
Group G: France, Belgium, Finland, TBD.
Group H: Slovenia, Czech Republic, Sweden, Estonia.
(There are eight teams still yet to qualify, and those teams will be determined at pre-qualifying tournaments this summer.)
Asia
Teams: 16 for 7 World Cup spots. (Qatar already qualified as host nation, and will be the eighth World Cup team from Asia.)
First-round qualifying dates: November 2025, February 2026, July 2026.
Second-round qualifying dates: August 2026, November 2026, February 2027.
Format: Four groups of four teams in the first round (six games per team). The top three teams from each group will move on to the second round.
Group A: Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Guam.
Group B: Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan.
Group C: Iran, Jordan, Syria, Iraq.
Group D: Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, India, Qatar.
Africa
Teams: 16 for 5 World Cup spots
First-round qualifying dates: November 2025, February 2026, July 2026.
Second-round qualifying dates: August 2026, February 2027.
Format: Four groups of four teams in the first round (six games per team). The top three teams from each group will move on to the second round.
Group A: Cameroon, South Sudan, Libya, Cape Verde.
Group B: Senegal, Congo, Madagascar, Ivory Coast.
Group C: Nigeria, Rwanda, Guinea, Tunisia.
Group D: Mali, Angola, Uganda, Egypt.
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AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports
Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
